Export Credit Agencies underwrite or finance about $430 billion worth of business activities abroad, considerably more than all other forms of government-backed finance.
For OECD member countries, the social and environmental responsibilities of such lending are set out by the "common approaches" based on the International Finance Corporation's 2011 Performance Standards. Some ECAs have gone further by considering also how the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights can be applied, in particular to fill gaps - such as business sectors that sit outside the central logic of the Performance Standards (which were designed mainly with major physical projects and infrastructure in mind).
The Canadian ECA is one of the largest of its kind with around 1,200 employees. On 6 May 2019, IHRB's CEO John Morrison was invited to address the Canadian ECA's new CEO, Chair, and members of the its Corporate Social Responsibility Advisory Council on the issue of "leverage".
The perception of ‘value’ needs to change if the World Bank’s mission is to succeed
Last week we attended the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C. The annual IMF-World Bank meetings bring together finance ministers and central bankers from all regions as a platform for official...
26 April 2024 | Commentary
Commentary by Vasuki Shastry, Author, ESG/Strategic Communications Expert; International Advisory Council, IHRB Haley St. Dennis, Head of Just Transitions, IHRB